JPH049715A - Data storage system using memory card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To read data of a memory card into a standard personal computer as it is by adapting the format when the data is written into the memory card to the personal computer. CONSTITUTION:A formatting/processing part 200a of a data storage divides a memory area of a memory card 156 into a plurality of tracks and sectors, and sets a cluster of a predetermined number of sectors as a managing unit. A file managing/processing part 200b writes file managing information into a predetermined memory area of the memory card. An input/output processing part 200c reads/writes the data. By using the memory card 156 backed up by a battery as a memory of the data storage, formatting of the memory area of the card 156, managing of stored data files, formatting of the to-be-written data and the like are set adaptable to a standard personal computer. Accordingly, the data of the card can be read into the standard personal computer.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an MI system for vehicle-related data collected by a data storage device, and in particular, the read data is transferred to a removable IC card (hereinafter referred to as memory) in the main body of the data storage device. By storing data in a predetermined format on a card (called a card), it can be read as is on a large number of standard personal computers, making data processing and analysis easier. The present invention relates to a data storage method using a memory card that can contribute to the improvement and development of related equipment, fuel oil, oil, etc.

[Conventional technology]

Generally, in order to develop a vehicle engine, etc., it is necessary to collect a lot of different data in parallel over a long period of time, such as data during driving, such as engine rotation speed, vehicle speed, acceleration, and fuel consumption.

Load multiple pieces of data like this and create a database,
A wide variety of data storage devices have been developed as storage means.

In order to collect this data while the vehicle is running, it is necessary to mount a data storage device on the vehicle, and for this purpose, the data storage device needs to be portable and small. Particularly when collecting data while a racing car is running, the racing car needs to be as light as possible in order to increase its speed, so it needs to be not only small but also lightweight. The memory of such a data storage device is
Conventionally, a chip type D-RAM or 5-RAM is used.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, data in D-RAM is lost when the power is turned off, so it is necessary to back up the data while the power is on. In this respect, S-R and AM have battery backup, so data will not be lost even if the power is turned off, but since the storage capacity cannot be increased that much with a small data storage device, it is difficult to collect large amounts of data. If you do this, R3232 will be released when the remaining memory capacity is exhausted.
It is necessary to backup the data by transferring it to an external storage device using a transfer means such as C. However, it takes time to take a backup, and data collection is therefore interrupted, which is not preferable for continuous measurement. Therefore,
It is conceivable to use a memory card as a data storage medium, but when using a memory card, if the data cannot be read by a standard personal computer, the data processing becomes extremely difficult.

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems, and aims to provide a data storage method using a memory card that allows a standard personal computer to read a large amount of data collected by a data storage device as is.

[Means to solve the problem]

To this end, the data storage method using the memory card of the present invention reads vehicle-related data chronologically at a predetermined sampling period using a data storage device installed in the vehicle, and writes the read data to a memory card to accumulate data. In this storage method, the data storage device divides the storage area of the memory card into a plurality of tracks and sectors, and includes a formatting processing unit that sets a cluster consisting of a predetermined number of sectors as a management unit, and a predetermined storage area of the memory card. The device is characterized by comprising a file management processing unit that writes file management information to the computer, and an input/output processing unit that reads/writes data.

[Effect]

The present invention uses a battery-backed memory card as the memory of a data storage device, and formats the storage area of the memory card, manages files for stored data, and formats written data, etc., in a manner similar to that of a standard personal computer. It becomes possible to read the data stored in the memory card as it is on a personal computer and process and process the data.

〔Example〕

Although the present invention can be applied to any case where a large amount of data is continuously collected, the following description will be made using the collection and accumulation of data during driving of a racing car as an example.

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a data storage device used to collect and store running data of a racing car, and Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating how the data storage device is attached to and removed from the memory card. It is. In the figure, 100 is the main body of the data storage device, 101 is the ignition signal detector, 103 is the proximity switch, 105 is the linear potentiometer, 107 is the pressure sensor, 109 is the positive displacement flow meter, 111 is the resistance temperature detector, and 113a is the wide range type. Oxygen sensor, 113b is thermocouple, 1
17a is a voltmeter, 117b is a shunt resistor, 119a
119b is an acceleration sensor, 119b is an orientation sensor, 119c is an inclination sensor, 121 is an infrared emitter, 123 is an infrared receiver, 125, 127, 1.29 is an F/V converter, 13
1 is a counter, 133 is an I/V converter, 135, 137
, 139 is a linearizer, 141 is a measurement start/stop switch, 143 is a memory counter clear/reset switch, 145 is a recording method selection switch, 147 is an analog data selector, 149 is an A/D converter, 151 is a CPU, 1.53 is a ROM, 155 is RAM.

156 is a memory card, 157 is a reference tarok oscillator,
159 is a counter, 160 is a time counter, and 161 is an external digital display.

As shown in FIG. 2, the data storage device main body 100 includes a display 161 that displays various data using, for example, a liquid crystal display.
and a keyboard of 163, with a handy type of 150
The size is approximately 180 x 50 mm, and it is waterproofed and uses cushioning materials to prevent vibrations.
I try to store it in a sturdy and sturdy case. Power is received from the vehicle's battery, and DC is used to prevent malfunction.
Isolate using a DC converter, etc. The main body of the data storage device consists of a 5-RAM, and a memory card 156 for driving and backup purposes, which is backed up by a battery, is removably attached (5).

In FIG. 1, the racing car is equipped with various sensors to detect the running state. Measurement by these sensors is started/stopped by a switch 141, and at the same time as the measurement starts, for example, an ignition signal is detected. Vessel 101
detects the engine speed in a non-contact manner in the range of 0 to 1200 rpm and outputs a signal accordingly. The proximity switch 103 detects the rotation speed of the drive shaft in the range of 0 to 300 km/h and sends out a vehicle speed signal. Linear potentiometer 105 is 0~50Ill
The throttle opening is measured in the range of Ii.

The pressure sensor 107 measures pressure in the range of 0 to 15 psi with a differential pressure detector that can be used for various purposes, such as vacuum in the intake pipe or vehicle speed measurement using a pitot tube, depending on the purpose of the user. Since it is a differential pressure detection type, it can also be used to detect vehicle speed using, for example, a pitot tube. The positive displacement flowmeter 109 measures the amount of fuel supplied and the amount of fuel returned, and based on the difference between them, the amount of fuel consumed is measured in the range of 0 to 60 cc/sec. Note that the fuel consumption amount is determined by the counter 13.
1 and directly CPU as cumulative consumption data.
I am trying to load it with . The resistance temperature sensor 111 is 0 to 2
For example, intake air temperature, water temperature, oil temperature, etc. are measured in the range of 00°C. The wide-area oxygen sensor 113a measures the air-fuel ratio by measuring oxygen concentration while keeping the ambient temperature around the sensor constant. In this example,
Since we are targeting racing cars that have engines split into left and right, we set the air-fuel ratio to L bank,
Measure each bank R. The thermocouple 113b measures the exhaust gas temperature in the range of 0 to 900°C for the L bank and the R bank.

Reference numeral 117a measures the battery voltage with a voltmeter, and uses an isolation amplifier in the range of 0 to 2 OA with a shunt resistor 117b to remove the influence of noise and measure the current consumption. The acceleration sensor 119a measures acceleration in the traveling direction and the lateral direction within a range of ±20G.

The orientation sensors 11 and 9b use, for example, a Hall element compass and measure all directions from 0 to 360 degrees. The tilt sensor 119C measures the tilt in the traveling direction and the lateral direction within a range of ±70 degrees.

Of the data measured by these sensors, the engine speed, vehicle speed, fuel consumption, and air-fuel ratio (1/V conversion) are detected as pulses, so they are converted to voltage values using an F/V converter, and other data are detected as pulses. Since the detected data is a voltage value, it is directly sampled at a predetermined period through the analog data selector 147.

In this case, the engine speed, vehicle speed, throttle opening, pressure, and acceleration change drastically due to ultra-high speed driving, so 0.
The data is sampled at a period of 1 sec, and other data is sampled at a period of Z 1 sec because the change is relatively slow or the response of the sensor is not so fast. The data thus sampled at a 0°1 second period or a 1 second period is converted into digital data by a Δ/D converter 149 and is taken into the CPU 151. C
The PU 151 is controlled by a program built in the program ROM 153, and the captured data is stored in the built-in RAM 155 for temporary buffering, and is stored in the memory card 156 in a format to be described later by specifying an address. The memory card 156 is removable from the main body of the data storage device,
It has a storage capacity of about 1 megabyte consisting of 5-RAM, and when the memory becomes full, you can replace it with another card, and even if you remove it from the data storage device, it has battery backup, so you can store data for more than a year. Can be saved. Therefore, a large amount of data can be collected by replacing the card. The contents of the memory card are then selected and the latest data values are displayed on the external digital display 161 at any time. The clock signal of the reference tally clock oscillator 157 is input to the CPU 151, and the time counter 160 and counter 159
Lap times are measured at each.

In addition, you can clear/clear memory, counters, and address counters.
Reset is performed by the switch 143, and the power is turned off so that the memory can be used effectively in preparation for long-term measurements.
Even when the device is turned off, the values in the memory and counter are retained, and when the power is turned on again and the switch 141 is pressed, measurements can continue instantaneously. Furthermore, when the memory becomes full, a recording method selection switch 145 allows selection of whether to stop measurement, to drain data, or to overwrite data.

Next, data storage in the memory card will be explained with reference to FIG.

Logger control processing section 2 consisting of the CPUI 51 of the data logger main body 100 and the ROMI 53 containing a program
00 has a formatting processing section 200a1, a file management processing section 200b, and an input/output processing section 200c. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the formatting processing unit 200a writes tracks concentrically on the memory card, such as track 1, track 2, etc., and further divides the memory area in the radial direction. Set the sectors shown with diagonal lines. (2) A sector is, for example, 1024 bytes, and data is managed in units of the minimum unit of 1024 bytes. In addition, there are 8 sectors per track, and a total of 12 sectors.
Assuming 8 tracks, the storage capacity of the memory card is 1024x8x128ζIM bytes.

As shown in Figure 5, when allocating physical sectors on the card to files, clusters consisting of consecutive power of 2 sectors are allocated as units, rather than sectors. Whether a sector constitutes one cluster is set in the formatting process.
Each cluster has a file allocation table (F
AT (details will be described later).

Next, the data format to be written will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9.

In the data storage method of the present invention, file management information is written in the outermost track, and the file system has a hierarchical IJ tank structure as shown in Figure 7. as the root directory, directories A, C5DSF...
is set and files b, eSh, g are set in each directory.
can now be assigned. For example, a file called h is specified by following the bus \A\F\h. This directory contains file names and associated information, and each piece of information is called a directory entry, with 32 entries as shown in Figure 6.
It is a byte data structure. i.e. file name,
An extension that extends the file name, attributes that indicate the meaning such as whether it is read-only or invisible, the time when the file was last modified, the starting cluster number of the file or directory,
File size etc. are described.

As shown in Figure 8, the storage area on the memory card is a reserved area for storing boot programs, etc., and an FA that collects information about the link status of clusters that make up files and subdirectories, used clusters, and defective clusters.
It consists of an area for storing two T, a root directory area, and a data area, and since FAT becomes unusable if even some sectors are missing, two identical copies are prepared and secured.

As shown in Figure 9, for a given file, the "file start cluster" in the corresponding directory entry
Cluster start number recorded in (number 004 in the figure)
The starting cluster can be found from . The location of the next cluster is written in the FAT entry corresponding to the first cluster, and the number of the third cluster is written in the FAT entry corresponding to the second cluster. Therefore, it can be seen that cluster number 004 is connected to cluster 005, and furthermore, cluster number 005 is connected to cluster number 004.
It can be seen that 006 is connected to , and OOA is connected to 006. Since there is a one-to-one correspondence between each FAT entry and the cluster in the data area, the main body of the file consists of four clusters (File-1 to File-4). .

As mentioned above, the memory card formatting process,
By performing data formatting, the memory card of the present invention can be handled by the O8 installed in a standard commercially available personal computer, and the memory card can be read in the card slot of the personal computer or in a card league. can.

FIG. 10 shows a memory card recorded by the data storage device of the present invention in a normal 16-bit personal computer 203.
As mentioned above, the data format of the memory card is such that it can be read by a personal computer, so the data can be read directly from the memory card and processed, or it can be transferred to the floppy disk 205. Is possible.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, a data storage device main body 100
If a data transfer device 200 such as R3232C is installed in the CPU 151, the contents of the memory card are read into the built-in buffer memory and the data transfer device 2 is sequentially read out.
It is also possible to transfer the data from 00 to the personal computer 203 and graph the data. Note that if GP-IB is used as a transfer device, the transfer speed can be increased, and since R3232C is equipped as standard in personal computers, its versatility can be utilized.

In the above embodiment, data collection during driving of a racing car has been described, but the invention is applicable not only to racing cars but also to any case where a large amount of data is collected, such as collection of test data of a normal vehicle.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the data format when writing the data read by the data storage device to the backed-up memory card is adapted to a normal personal computer, so that the data on the memory card can be directly transferred to the personal computer. It is now possible to read on a computer, making it easy to process and process huge amounts of data, and it is useful for vehicle engine development, engine tuning for racing cars, etc., improvement of engine-related equipment, fuel oil, oil, etc.
It becomes possible to contribute to development.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the data storage device applied to a racing car, FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the attachment and detachment of the data storage device main body and a memory card, and FIG. A diagram showing the configuration of the control processing unit of the data storage device, FIG. 4 is a diagram to explain formatting of a memory card, FIG. 5 is a diagram to explain the relationship between sectors and clusters, and FIG. 6 is a diagram to explain the relationship between sectors and clusters. Figure 7 is a diagram to explain the data structure of a directory entry, Figure 7 is a diagram to explain the hierarchical structure of files, Figure 8 is a diagram to explain the storage area used, and Figure 9 is a diagram to explain file allocation. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the functions of the table. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram when a memory card is directly read by a personal computer. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram when data is transferred to a personal convenience store using a data transfer device. 100...Data storage device main body, 121...Infrared emitter, 123...Infrared receiver, 151...CP
U, 156...Memory card, 161...External digital display, 200...Data storage device control processing unit,
200a... formatting processing section, 200b...
... File management processing unit, 200c... Input/output processing unit, 203... Personal computer. Applicant Tonen Corporation

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A data storage method in which vehicle-related data is read in chronological order at a predetermined sampling period by a data storage device installed in the vehicle, and the read data is written and stored on a memory card, and the data storage device is a memory card. Divide the storage area into multiple tracks and sectors,
Equipped with a formatting processing unit that sets a cluster consisting of a predetermined number of sectors as a management unit, a file management processing unit that writes file management information to a predetermined storage area of a memory card, and an input/output processing unit that reads/writes data. A data storage method that uses a memory card. (2) The data storage method according to claim 1, wherein the file management information includes a directory that describes file names and their attributes, and a file allocation table that connects clusters in which files are stored.